From Siachen Supply Runs to a Mumbai Café: Wing Commander Shikha Chaudhary's Second Mission

MUMBAI, Oct 8 — On Air Force Day, as the Indian Air Force marked another year of service with flypasts and ceremonies, one of its former officers was spending her morning in a 45-seat café in Andheri, checking supplies, greeting regulars and planning the next weekend workshop.

Wing Commander (Retd) Shikha Chaudhary spent 14 years in the Indian Air Force as an aeronautical engineer working on helicopters. Today she runs Jessiea's Café in Mumbai alongside her sister, a multi-cuisine neighbourhood space that she hopes will become the first outlet of a larger chain.

Her story is a reminder that the skills built in uniform — discipline, logistics, people management and calm under pressure — can translate powerfully into business, and that India's growing community of women veterans represents an under-recognised pool of entrepreneurial talent.

Career at a glance

• Service: 14 years in the Indian Air Force as an aeronautical engineer on helicopters

• Education: BTech in electronics and communication engineering

• Key postings: Srinagar (Siachen supply operations), Bagdogra, Bastar

• Operations: Operation Megh Rahat during the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir floods; casualty evacuation readiness of five to seven minutes

• Leadership: responsible for teams of 100 to 150 personnel

• Business: Jessiea's Café, Andheri, Mumbai, co-run with her sister; 45 seats; opened about a year ago

• Next step: plans to build a café chain

A different route into the sky

Chaudhary's original ambition was to fly. She narrowly missed the height requirement for pilots, but rather than abandon the Air Force, she joined as an engineering officer. With a BTech in electronics and communication engineering, she was commissioned into the technical branch and spent her career keeping helicopters mission-ready.

That role took her to some of the most demanding operating environments in the country. In Srinagar, she supported helicopter operations that ran supply sorties to Siachen, the world's highest battlefield, where aircraft operate at the edge of their performance envelope in thin air and extreme cold. Every mission depends on engineers on the ground ensuring that machines are serviceable and safe.

During the 2014 floods in Jammu and Kashmir, she was part of Operation Megh Rahat, the large-scale relief effort in which the Air Force flew rescue and supply missions to stranded communities. Later postings included Bagdogra in the eastern sector and Bastar in central India, where helicopters stood by for casualty evacuation on five-to-seven-minute readiness.

Lessons in command

Beyond the technical work, Chaudhary was responsible for managing teams of 100 to 150 people, including their training, welfare and deployment. It is experience that maps closely onto running a business: scheduling shifts, maintaining standards, solving problems under time pressure and keeping a team motivated.

Her reflections on the transition capture both pride and a sense of fresh possibility. "My first offer letter was signed by the President of India… I'll be my own boss now," she said.

Building Jessiea's Café

Jessiea's Café opened about a year ago in Andheri, one of Mumbai's busiest and most competitive food neighbourhoods. The 45-seat space offers a multi-cuisine menu spanning Japanese, Italian and French dishes, aiming to give local residents and office workers a relaxed alternative to both fast-food outlets and formal restaurants.

The sisters have designed the café to be more than a place to eat. It hosts regular workshops — from bedazzling sessions paired with affirmations to tote-bag painting — that attract families, students and young professionals looking for weekend activities. The café is also deliberately child-friendly, a feature that sets it apart in a city where many cafés cater mainly to adults working on laptops.

That community-first approach is a smart strategy in a crowded market. Mumbai's café scene has expanded rapidly in recent years, driven by rising disposable incomes, a young population and the growth of remote and hybrid work. Standing out requires more than good coffee; it requires a reason for customers to return. Workshops, events and a welcoming atmosphere build loyalty in ways that discounts on delivery apps rarely do.

The veteran-founder advantage

Military veterans bring distinctive strengths to entrepreneurship. They are trained to plan for contingencies, to execute under uncertainty and to lead diverse teams. Engineers like Chaudhary also bring a habit of process discipline — checklists, preventive maintenance and root-cause analysis — that can serve a food business well, where consistency, hygiene and supply-chain reliability determine success.

India's armed forces have opened more roles to women over the past decade, including permanent commission in several branches and the induction of women fighter pilots. As those cohorts complete their service, a growing number of women veterans are moving into corporate roles, social enterprises and their own businesses. Their stories are beginning to change perceptions of what a "second career" after the forces can look like.

What the transition teaches

Leaving a structured institution for the uncertainty of business is rarely easy. In the forces, roles, ranks and procedures are clearly defined; in a small business, the founder is responsible for everything from menu design to accounts to social media. Veterans who make the shift successfully often describe the same adjustment: learning to make decisions with incomplete information and no chain of command to share the load. Chaudhary's decision to start with a single, carefully run outlet before scaling reflects the same discipline that governs aircraft maintenance — get the system right first, then replicate it.

Scaling the mission

Chaudhary's ambitions do not stop at a single outlet. She plans to build Jessiea's into a chain, taking the format to other neighbourhoods and, eventually, other cities. That will require capital, strong site selection, standardised operations and the ability to replicate the café's personality across locations — challenges familiar to every food entrepreneur, but ones that play to the strengths of someone trained to build systems and lead teams.

For aspiring women founders, particularly those considering a mid-career switch, her journey offers practical encouragement. A setback — in her case, missing out on becoming a pilot — did not end a career; it redirected it. Years of service built capabilities that now underpin a business.

As the Indian Air Force marked its anniversary this week, Chaudhary's story highlighted a quieter form of service: the veterans who return to civilian life and go on to create jobs, build communities and contribute to India's growing entrepreneurial economy. Her new mission is just getting started.